Police investigating alleged 'child rape' in virtual reality video game

Police are investigating the alleged rape of a girl under the age of 16 in a virtual reality game after she was attacked in the metaverse.

It's thought to be the first virtual sexual offence investigated by the police.

The child was not physically injured, due to the incident taking place online, but she is said to have experienced psychological and emotional trauma.

As the Mail Online reports, she was wearing a VR headset when she was assaulted by men in a virtual room.

Ian Critchley is the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s lead for child protection and abuse investigation. He said: “The metaverse creates a gateway for predators to commit horrific crimes against children.”

A spokesperson for Meta [via the Metro] said: “The kind of behaviour described has no place on our platform, which is why for all users we have an automatic protection called personal boundary, which keeps people you don’t know a few feet away from you.”

A senior officer spoke about the case, saying: "This child experienced psychological trauma similar to that of someone who has been physically raped.

"There is an emotional and psychological impact on the victim that is longer term than any physical injuries. It poses a number of challenges for law enforcement, given [that] current legislation is not set up for this."

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